JP4454873B2 - Noodle folding method and apparatus - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a noodle folding method and apparatus for forming a noodle by folding a plurality of noodle strings into strips and cutting the noodles into a predetermined length.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As a technique for folding noodles in half, for example, the conventional techniques shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 are known.
In this prior art, as shown in FIG. 5, the lower part of the noodle 1 cut into a predetermined length is dropped between the two rotating parts 2 and 3, and then the length of the noodle 1 is lowered as shown in FIG. The pushing plate 4 is advanced from the lateral direction toward the center in the vertical direction, and the noodle 1 is pushed at the tip thereof to start folding the noodle 1 in half.
[0003]
A conveying conveyor 4 is arranged in front of the pushing plate 4, and the rotating part 3 is positioned above the conveying conveyor 4 with an interval S smaller than the thickness of the noodles 1 folded in half, The rotating part 3 and the carry-out conveyor 4 sandwich the folding part 1a of the noodle 1.
By the rotation of the rotating part 3 and the operation of the carry-out conveyor 4, the folding part 1a of the noodles 1 sandwiched between them is forcibly moved forward on the carry-out conveyor 4, and at the same time the push-in plate 4 moves backward, so that the noodles gradually move forward. The upper half 1b and the lower half 1c of 1 are overlapped, and the whole noodle 1 is folded in two, and then placed on the upper surface of the carry-out conveyor 4 in a state of being released from the rotating unit 3, and taken out to the next process. It has come to be.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in such a technique, defective folded noodles are likely to be generated due to the following reasons.
That is, the noodles 1 that are sandwiched between the rotating parts 2 and 3 are stretched by their own weight, and the tip of the pushing plate 4 hits at a position shifted from the center in the length direction of the noodles 1 and starts to be folded. Therefore, like the noodle shown by reference numeral 1E in FIG. 6, the end 1d of the upper half 1b and the end 1e of the lower half 1c may be shifted, resulting in a defective half-folded noodle. Further, the pushing plate 4 that moves in the lateral direction has a long stroke and a large contact area with the noodle 1 when starting to fold in half, and the noodle 1 may be pulled back as the pushing plate 4 is retracted. There is a possibility that it becomes a defective two-fold noodle indicated by reference numeral 1E in FIG.
[0005]
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a noodle folding method and apparatus capable of accurately folding a noodle in half so that the upper half end and the lower half end are aligned. It is an object.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 is to transfer noodles cut to a predetermined length and transported on the first transport conveyor onto the second transport conveyor. The noodles are pushed upward by a pushing member and folded in half to feed the noodles onto the carry-out conveyor disposed above the second conveyor, the first transfer A first hold roller is disposed above the forefront of the conveyor in the vicinity of the second transport conveyor so that the distance from the carry-out conveyor is smaller than the thickness of the folded noodles. And a space between the carry-out conveyor and the carry-out conveyor as a first fold guide portion, and the second home so that the distance from the carry-out conveyor is smaller than the thickness of the folded noodles above the first hold roller. A roller between the second hold roller and the carry-out conveyor is used as a second folding guide portion, and the leading end of the noodles is transferred to the second transport conveyor, and the center of the noodles in the longitudinal direction. Is positioned below the first folding guide portion, the upper end of the push-in member is advanced upward to the first folding guide portion, and at the same time, the transport direction of the second transport conveyor is reversed. The noodles are started to be folded in two, and the push-in member is retracted downward, while being guided upward by the first folding guide portion, and further provided between the second hold roller and the carry-out conveyor. In this method, noodles that are gradually folded in two by the folding guide section are placed on the carry-out conveyor.
[0007]
Further, the invention according to claim 2 is arranged with a predetermined interval in front of the first transport conveyor for transporting the noodles cut into a predetermined length and transporting the noodles, 2 between the second transport conveyor for transporting the noodles in the same transport direction as the first transport conveyor or in the reverse transport direction, the unloading conveyor disposed above the second transport conveyor, and the unloading conveyor. A first hold roller disposed with a first folding guide portion having an interval smaller than the thickness of the folded noodle, and disposed above the first hold roller, the interval between the carry-out conveyor being folded in half The second hold roller provided with a second folding guide portion having a smaller dimension than the thickness of the noodle and the space between the first and second transport conveyors to advance upward to the first folding guide portion And said 2 Start folded, is a device which is characterized in that it comprises a pushing member retracted downward when the noodles that initiated this folded is fed to the discharge conveyor.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of a noodle folding device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The same components as those shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.
FIG.1 and FIG.2 shows the noodle folding device of 1st Embodiment.
[0011]
Reference numeral 10 in FIG. 1 denotes a first carry-in conveyor that is installed horizontally, and the noodle 1 that has been cut to a predetermined length L is carried on the carry-in conveyor 10 so as to be the amount of one serving. Come. The second carry-in conveyor 12 is installed horizontally at the same level with a predetermined interval S1 in front of the first carry-in conveyor 10 in the conveying direction. Here, the interval S1 is set to a size smaller than the thickness of the noodle 1 folded in half, and a space provided with the interval S1 is referred to as a folding guide portion 9.
[0012]
As shown in FIG. 2, the second carry-in conveyor 12 before the noodles 1 are folded in half is driven so as to be in the same conveyance direction as the first carry-in conveyor 10 (the conveyance direction from left to right shown in FIG. 1). The noodles 1 that have been carried on the first carry-in conveyor 10 pass through the folding guide portion 9 and are transferred onto the second carry-in conveyor 12 and carried for a predetermined distance.
[0013]
When the center in the longitudinal direction of the noodle 1 transferred from the first carry-in conveyor 10 to the second carry-in conveyor 12 is located at the center of the folding guide portion 9, the second carry-in conveyor 12 is reversed as shown in FIG. It drives so that it may become a conveyance direction (conveyance direction from right to left shown in FIG. 2). At the same time, the push plate 14 moves downward, the noodle 1 is sandwiched by the folding guide portion 9, the formed folded portion 1a is forcibly moved downward, and the noodle 1 is started to be folded in half.
[0014]
Below the push-in plate 14, the end of the carry-out conveyor 16 installed horizontally is located, and the folded portion 1 a of the noodle 1 that has moved downward is transferred onto the carry-out conveyor 16, and the carrying direction of the carry-out conveyor 16. While moving forward, the upper half 1b and the lower half 1c of the noodle 1 are gradually overlapped and the whole noodle 1 is folded in half, and is placed on the carry-out conveyor 16 and carried out to the next process.
[0015]
Here, the pushing plate 14 performs an operation of pushing the center in the longitudinal direction of the noodle 1 downward by the vertical movement mechanism 18 and an operation of releasing the pushing operation immediately and returning upward.
The vertical movement mechanism 18 is supported by the guide member 20 so as to be movable up and down. The vertical movement shaft 22 is connected to the upper end of the push-in plate 14, the rotor 24 is connected to the lower end of the vertical movement shaft 22, and The rotor 24 is provided with a cam 29 that rolls on a cam surface 26 provided on the outer periphery and rotates together with a rotating shaft 28. Then, on the cam surface 26, the rotor 24 rolls to this position, thereby moving the vertically moving shaft 22 downward and lowering the lower end of the pushing plate 14 to the position of the folding guide portion 9. Is formed (see FIG. 2), and when the rotor 24 rolls on the cam surface 26 other than the concave cam surface 26a, the vertical movement shaft 22 moves upward, and the lower end of the pushing plate 14 is folded into the folding guide portion. 9 (see FIG. 1).
[0016]
According to the noodle folding apparatus according to the first embodiment having the above-described configuration, the noodle 1 immediately before being folded is placed horizontally on the first carry-in conveyor 10 and the second carry-in conveyor 12 that are horizontally installed. Since the problem caused by the elongation of the noodle 1 as in the conventional method does not occur, the noodle 1 folded in half does not have a possibility that the end 1d of the upper half 1b and the end 1e of the lower half 1c become uneven.
[0017]
Further, the vertical movement mechanism 18 performs an operation of returning immediately after the pushing plate 14 is lowered to the folding guide portion 9 and sets the stroke of the pushing plate 14 at the start of folding of the noodle 1 to be short. The contact area between the plate 14 and the noodle 1 is reduced. As a result, the pushing plate 14 does not apply an excessive force to pull back the noodle 1, so that the defective folded noodle 1 is not formed, and the end 1 d of the upper half 1 b and the end of the lower half 1 c High quality noodles 1 with 1e can be formed.
[0018]
In the present embodiment, the vertical movement mechanism 18 is configured using the cam 29, but the push-up pot 14 may be moved up and down by another mechanism, for example, a vertical movement mechanism using a pneumatic cylinder or the like.
Next, FIG.3 and FIG.4 shows the noodle folding device of 2nd Embodiment.
Reference numeral 30 in FIG. 3 denotes a first carry-in conveyor installed horizontally, and the noodles 1 are carried on the first carry-in conveyor 30. The second carry-in conveyor 32 is installed horizontally at the same level with a predetermined interval S2 in front of the first carry-in conveyor 30 in the conveying direction.
[0019]
A first hold roller 34 is disposed above the forefront of the first carry-in conveyor 30 in the transport direction, and a carry-out conveyor 36 is also disposed above the second carry-in conveyor 32.
The first hold roller 34 is disposed above the conveying surface of the first carry-in conveyor 30 by the thickness of the noodle 1, and between the first hold roller 34 and the carry-out conveyor 36, A first folding guide portion 35 spaced apart by a dimension S3 smaller than the thickness of the folded noodle 1 is provided.
[0020]
A second hold roller 38 is also disposed above the first hold roller 34. Between the second hold roller 38 and the carry-out conveyor 36, a dimension S3 smaller than the thickness of the folded noodle 1 is obtained. A second folding guide portion 37 is provided which is spaced apart from each other.
When the center in the longitudinal direction of the noodle 1 transferred from the first carry-in conveyor 30 to the second carry-in conveyor 32 is located at the center of the first folding guide portion 35, as shown in FIG. Are driven in the opposite transport direction (the transport direction from right to left shown in FIG. 4). At the same time, the push plate 40 having the upper end located between the first carry-in conveyor 30 and the second carry-in conveyor 32 moves upward so that the noodles 1 are sandwiched between the first folding guide portions 35 and formed. The part 1a is forcibly moved upward to start folding the noodle 1 in half.
[0021]
The folding portion 1a of the noodle 1 that has moved upward continues to be folded in two by a second folding guide portion 37 provided by the second hold roller 38 and the carry-out conveyor 36, and further moves forward in the transport direction of the carry-out conveyor 36. Then, the upper half 1b and the lower half 1c of the noodle 1 are gradually overlapped and the whole noodle 1 is folded in two, and is placed on the carry-out conveyor 36 and carried out to the next process.
[0022]
Here, the push-in plate 40 performs an operation of pushing the center of the noodle 1 in the longitudinal direction upward by a vertical movement mechanism (not shown), and an operation of releasing the push-in operation immediately and returning downward. The vertical movement mechanism is similar to the vertical movement mechanism 18 shown in the first embodiment.
According to the noodle folding device of the second embodiment having the above-described configuration, the noodle 1 immediately before being folded is placed horizontally on the first carry-in conveyor 30 and the second carry-in conveyor 32 that are horizontally installed. As with the apparatus of the first embodiment, problems due to the elongation of the noodles 1 do not occur.
[0023]
Further, the noodles 1 are sandwiched between the first folding guide portions 35 to form the folded portions 1a, and the second folding guide portions just above the first folding guide portions 35 hold the folded portions 1a while holding the folded portions 1a. Since the whole is folded in half and moved to the carry-out conveyor 36, the folded noodle 1 does not have an uneven end 1d in the upper half 1b and end 1e in the lower half 1c.
[0024]
Also, the upper surface of the noodles 1 conveyed to the first carry-in conveyor 30 has a high quality because the noodle strings are not too dense compared to the lower surface of the noodles 1 that are in contact with the carry surface of the first carry-in conveyor 30. However, in this embodiment, since the pushing plate 40 pushes the center of the noodle 1 in the longitudinal direction from the lower side and folds it in half, the upper surface of the noodle 1 is the top of the noodle 1 folded in half. It becomes the surface of the half 1b and the lower half 1c. From this, the high quality folded noodle 1 can be formed.
[0025]
【The invention's effect】
As explained above, according to the noodle folding method according to the present invention, the noodle just before being folded is transferred from the first carry-in conveyor to the second carry-in conveyor, Since problems such as elongation do not occur, noodles that are folded in half do not have a possibility that the upper half end and the lower half end are uneven. In addition, the push-in member that starts folding the noodles in the vertical direction moves up and down to the folding guide, and then returns immediately, and the stroke of the push-in member at the start of noodle folding is set short. The contact area between the member and the noodle is reduced. For this reason, the pushing member does not exert an excessive force that pulls the noodles back on the noodles, so that the defective folded noodles are not formed, and high-quality noodles can be formed.
[0026]
In particular, according to the noodle folding method according to the present invention, the lower surface of the noodle that is in contact with the transport surface of the first carry-in conveyor and the second carry-in conveyor is positioned inside the folded noodle and Since the upper surface of the non-contact surface is the surface side of the folded noodle, the folded noodle with good surface quality can be formed.
Further, according to the noodle folding device according to the present invention, the high-quality two-fold noodles with the end portions of the upper half noodle and the lower half noodle aligned can be continuously performed by an automatic operation with a simple device configuration. Can be manufactured.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a noodle folding device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a state in which the apparatus of the first embodiment starts folding noodles in half.
FIG. 3 is a view showing a noodle folding device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which the apparatus of the second embodiment starts folding noodles in half.
FIG. 5 is a view showing a state in which noodles are suspended and conveyed in a conventional noodle folding device.
FIG. 6 is a view showing a state in which a conventional noodle folding device starts folding noodles.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Noodle 1a Folding part 1b Noodle upper half 1c Noodle lower half 1d, 1e Noodle end part 9 Folding guide part 10, 30 First carrying conveyor 12, 32 Second carrying conveyor 14, 40 Push plate (pushing member)
16 Unloading conveyor 34 First hold roller (hold roller)
35 First folding guide portion 37 Second folding guide portion 38 Second hold roller

Claims (2)

The noodles cut to a predetermined length and transported on the first transport conveyor are transported onto the second transport conveyor, and the center of the noodles in the longitudinal direction is pushed upward by a pushing member during the transport. A method in which the noodles are folded in two and supplied onto a carry-out conveyor disposed above the second conveyor,
A first hold roller is disposed above the forefront of the first transport conveyor in the vicinity of the second transport conveyor so that the distance from the carry-out conveyor is smaller than the thickness of the folded noodle, The space between the first hold roller and the carry-out conveyor is the first folding guide part,
A second hold roller is disposed above the first hold roller so that the distance from the carry-out conveyor is smaller than the thickness of the folded noodles, and between the second hold roller and the carry-out conveyor. Let the space be the second folding guide,
When the leading end of the noodles is transferred onto the second transport conveyor and the center in the longitudinal direction of the noodles is located below the first folding guide part, the upper end of the pushing member is moved to the first folding guide. The noodles are started to be folded in the opposite direction with the conveying direction of the second conveyor being reversed, and the push-in member is retracted downward, while the first folding guide unit moves upward. And noodles that are gradually folded in two by a second folding guide provided between the second hold roller and the carry-out conveyor are placed on the carry-out conveyor. Noodle folding method. A first transport conveyor that transports noodles cut to a predetermined length and transports the noodles that are cut into a predetermined length, and is disposed at a predetermined interval in front of the transport direction of the first transport conveyor, the same transport direction as the first transport conveyor Alternatively, the second transport conveyor that transports the noodles in the reverse transport direction, the unloading conveyor disposed above the second transport conveyor, and an interval smaller than the thickness of the folded noodles The first hold roller disposed with the first folding guide portion and the first hold roller disposed above the first hold roller is spaced at a distance smaller than the thickness of the folded noodle. The second hold roller provided with the second folding guide portion and the first and second conveyors pass between the first hold guide portion and the first folding guide portion to advance upward to start folding the noodles in half. This 2 Folded apparatus noodles started folding noodles characterized in that it comprises a pushing member retracted downward when it is supplied to the discharge conveyor.

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